Deuteronomy 20:10–18

He shows beautiful consideration for the enemy. When they came near the threatened city, they were first called to proclaim peace to it. That is a strange way of making war, but one worthy of God. He took no pleasure in war. He would train His people to go out, even to fight, remembering that their own feet were fitted "with the readiness given by the gospel of peace," if I may say so.

They had to draw a careful line between two kinds of city. There were the cities far away from them, and there were the cities of the seven nations under judgment. To the first kind they were to make offers of peace before anything else. With the second they were to make no terms at all. "When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it" — a marvellous method of fighting!

There was a most merciful arrangement, which consisted in an offer of peace to a besieged city. (The cities of the Canaanite nations are not included.) Peace was the first thing proclaimed. If the city accepted the offer, its people kept their lives. If it refused, the people resisted that offer of peace and so showed the wickedness of their hearts. They were resisting God, and Israel besieged the city.

Indiscriminate slaughter and wholesale destruction formed no part of Israel's business. Cities willing to accept the offered terms of peace had the privilege of becoming tributaries to the people of God.

As to the enemy, a besieged town was always to have the offer of peace by submission. If it resisted, it paid the penalty for resisting God, and not merely men. But Israel was to spare those who did not fight.

The dealing with them is just as serious as the offer of peace made beforehand was real. God's ways are not as ours.

There was one exception. There must be no peace with the Canaanites. They were not feared as rivals; they were doomed to destruction because of their detestable practices and the way they lured others into them. Some, as is well known, find a difficulty here. This may not remove that difficulty, but others may find it worth knowing that, as a picture, the Canaanites stand for the agents of Satan, the spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. With such enemies there can be no terms and no compromise. There ought to be none. The fight must never stop, at any time or in any circumstances.

Scripture reveals nothing more plainly than this. The Lord put the sword of judgment into Israel's hands. In certain cases He commanded them to use it with unrelenting severity (Deut. 20:10-18). How different now! God makes those who have come to find in Jesus a Saviour His own ministers of love, of mercy, and of grace to a rebellious world.

He also shows beautiful consideration for the enemy. When Israel came near the threatened city, their first task was to proclaim peace to it. That is a strange way of making war, but it is worthy of God. He took no pleasure in war. He would train His people to go out, even to fight, while they remembered that they themselves were "shod with the preparation of peace," if I may put it that way.

Killing without limit and total destruction formed no part of Israel's business. If any cities were willing to accept the offered terms of peace, they were to have the privilege of becoming tributaries to the people of God. And in those cities that would make no peace, Israel was to keep everything inside the walls that could be put to use.

As to the enemy, Israel always had to offer a besieged town peace on terms of submission. If the town resisted, it paid the penalty of resisting God, not merely man. But Israel was to spare those who did not fight.

There is just as serious a dealing with them, in proportion to the reality with which the offer of peace had been made before. God's ways are not as ours.

There was one exception: there must be no peace with the Canaanites. This was not because Israel dreaded them as rivals. They were doomed to destruction because of their vile practices and the way they lured others into them. It is well known that some find a difficulty in this. It may interest others to know that, read as a picture, the Canaanites represent the agents of Satan, the spiritual wickedness in heavenly places — those rulers of the darkness of this world with whom we are called to wrestle now. They are the powers of evil that keep turning every part of religion into a means of deliberate and ruinous dishonour of God. With such there can be, and ought to be, no terms, no compromise, no stopping of the fight at any time or in any circumstances.

God will not destroy all the earth in that day. He will destroy only those nations where His witnesses have been, the nations that will then band together against the Lord's anointed. The kingdoms of the world will become the Lord's, and He will not destroy them. The far-off islands will form the procession of Messiah's glory on earth, just as the distant cities and peoples of old were to be left alive to become tributaries to Israel (Deut. 20:10-18). Only those will be cut off who had filled up the measure of their sin and defied God.

Scripture reveals nothing more clearly than this: the Lord put the sword of judgment into Israel's hands. He commanded them to use it with unsparing severity in certain cases (Deut. 20:10-18). It was an honour given to them to carry out the judgment that was written, and this will be true of them again, strange as that may sound to our ears. How different it is now! Those who have been led to find in Jesus a Saviour... are made God's ministers of love, of mercy, and of grace to a rebellious world. The same Divine Lawgiver who... said to Saul, "Utterly destroy, and spare them not," now, in the day of salvation, says to His redeemed, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

God shows beautiful consideration for the enemy. When Israel came near the threatened city, they were first told to proclaim peace to it. That is a strange way to make war, but it is worthy of God. He took no pleasure in war... There is just as serious a dealing with the city that refuses, in proportion to the reality with which the offer of peace had been made before. God's ways are not as ours.

As for the enemy, a besieged town was always to have the offer of peace by submission. If it resisted, it suffered the penalty of resisting God, not man merely. But Israel was to spare those who took no part in the fighting. The Canaanites, as under the divine curse, are an exception to this. As for the land, Israel was not to cut down the fruit trees, but leave them to support life.

Killing everyone and destroying everything formed no part of Israel's business. Any city willing to accept the offered terms of peace had the privilege of becoming a tributary to the people of God. And in the cities that would make no peace, Israel was to keep everything inside their walls that could be of use.

There was one exception: there must be no peace with the Canaanites. They were not doomed because Israel feared them as rivals. They were doomed to destruction because of their detestable practices, and because they drew others into them. It is well known that some find a difficulty in this... Seen as a picture, the Canaanites stand for the agents of Satan, the spiritual wickedness in heavenly places — those rulers of the darkness of this world we are called to wrestle with now... With such enemies there can be, there ought to be, no terms, no compromise, no stopping of the fight at any time or in any circumstances.

Scripture reveals no truth more clearly than this: the Lord put the sword of judgment into the hands of Israel. He commanded them to use it with unrelenting severity in certain cases (Deut. 20:10-18). It was an honour given to them to carry out the judgment written... How different now! Those who have been led to discover in Jesus a Saviour... are made God's ministers of love, of mercy, and of grace to a rebellious world. The same Divine Lawgiver said to Saul, in full keeping with the age of the law, "Utterly destroy, and spare them not." Now, in the day of salvation, He says to His redeemed, "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, and do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you."

He shows beautiful consideration for the enemy too. When they came near the threatened city, they were first told to proclaim peace to it. That is a strange way of making war, but it is worthy of God. He took no pleasure in war... And He deals with a city that refuses just as seriously as the earlier offer of peace was real. God's ways are not as ours.

There was a most merciful arrangement: an offer of peace to a besieged city. (The cities of the Canaanite nations are not included.) Peace was the first thing proclaimed. If the city accepted the offer, the lives of its people were saved. If it refused, and the people resisted the call to peace and so showed the wickedness of their hearts in resisting God, the city was besieged. All the males were to be struck with the sword, but the women and little ones were saved.

Indiscriminate slaughter and wholesale destruction formed no part of Israel's business. Any city willing to accept the offered terms of peace was given the privilege of becoming a tribute-paying subject of the people of God. As for the cities that would make no peace, everything inside their walls that could be used was to be kept.

The governing principle here, as everywhere, is confidence in Jehovah. He had taken His people, brought them out of Egypt into relationship with Himself, and was now placing them in His own land... It was not a question of soldiers or strategy, of force or skill or trickery, but of Jehovah their God... So losing heart could not be tolerated. It could only come from one thing — that the people were thinking not of Jehovah their God, but of themselves or their enemies.

These nations had sold themselves to serve demons and idols. Their cup of iniquity was full, and none were to be spared (Deut. 18:9-12). God knew that if they lived on, they would teach Israel the same evils these idolaters were used to (v. 18).

Seen as a picture, the Canaanites stand for Satan's agents, the spiritual wickedness in heavenly places — the rulers of the darkness of this world that we are called to wrestle with now... With such enemies there can be, and there ought to be, no terms, no compromise, and no ending of the fight at any time or in any possible circumstances.

Scripture reveals no truth more clearly than this: the Lord put the sword of judgment into the hands of Israel and commanded them to use it with unrelenting severity in certain cases (Deut. 20:10-18)... How different now! Some have been led to find a Saviour in Jesus, to know the ransom of their souls by His blood, and to receive in Him, risen and glorified, the free gifts of righteousness and eternal life. They are made God's ministers of love, of mercy, and of grace to a rebellious world.

In Deuteronomy 20 comes the law of battles. God takes the utmost care that they should in no way copy the loose ways of the nations. The ruling principle here, as everywhere else, is confidence in Jehovah. He had taken His people, brought them out of Egypt into relationship with Himself, and was now placing them in His own land... It was not a question of soldiers or strategy, of force or skill or trickery, but of Jehovah their God... What secures victory is the certainty that our God calls us to the fight, and that the battle is His, not ours.

God shows beautiful thoughtfulness even for the enemy. When His people came near the threatened city, they were first told to offer it peace: a strange way of making war, but worthy of God. He took no pleasure in war... "But if it makes no peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it." He then deals with them just as seriously as the offer of peace had been genuine. God's ways are not our ways.

Killing everyone and destroying everything formed no part of Israel's business. Cities willing to accept the terms of peace had the privilege of becoming tribute-payers to the people of God. In cities that would make no peace, everything inside the walls that could be used was to be kept.

There are things in nature and things of earth that can be used for God; the word of God and prayer sanctify them... If this world's riches come into a Christian's hands, he should put them to work in the service of Christ with care and faithfulness. He should give them out freely to the poor, and to all the Lord's needy workers. In short, he should make them available, in every right and wise way, to further the Lord's work in every area. Otherwise those same riches might crumble into dust in their hands, or turn to rust on their souls. Used this way, they will produce precious fruit.

However, this applied only to cities far from the land of Canaan, not to any of the cities of the land. For those cities God had already commanded Israel to kill the men, women, children and livestock (vv.16-17)... These nations had sold themselves to the worship of demons and idols. Their sin had reached its full measure, and no one was to be spared. God knew that if they lived on they would teach Israel the same evils these idol-worshippers had grown used to.

Scripture reveals no truth more plainly than this: the Lord put the sword of judgment into the hands of Israel, and told them to use it without mercy in certain cases (Deut. 20:10-18)... How different it is now! People who have been led to find a Saviour in Jesus... are made God's ministers of love, of mercy, and of grace to a rebellious world. The same Divine Lawgiver who... said to Saul, "devote to destruction all that they have... Do not spare them," now, in the day of salvation, says to His redeemed, "Love your enemies... and pray for those who persecute you."

However, this applied only to cities far from the land of Canaan, not to any of the cities of the land. For these, God had already commanded that Israel put the men, women, children and livestock to death (vs.16-17). These nations had sold themselves to the service of demon worship and idolatry. Their cup of iniquity was full, and Israel was to spare no one (Deut.18:9-12). God knew that if these idolaters lived on, they would teach Israel the same evils they were used to (v.18).

There is also a beautiful consideration on His part for the enemy. When they came near the threatened city, God first told them to proclaim peace to it. It is a strange way of making war, but worthy of God. He took no pleasure in war. Even when His people went out to fight, He would train them to remember that they themselves were "shod with the preparation of peace," if I may put it that way… Yet the dealing with a city that refused was as serious as the offer of peace before it had been real. God's ways are not as ours.

Indiscriminate slaughter and wholesale destruction formed no part of Israel's business. Any city willing to accept the terms of peace offered to it was to have the privilege of becoming a tributary to the people of God. As for the cities that would make no peace, Israel was to keep back everything within their walls that could be put to use.

There was one exception: there must be no peace with the Canaanites. They were not feared as rivals. They were doomed to destruction because of their abominations and the way they led others astray. It is well known that some find a difficulty in this. It may interest others… to know that, read as a picture, the Canaanites stand for the agents of Satan, the spiritual wickedness in heavenly places… With such there can be, and there ought to be, no terms, no compromise, and no stopping the fight at any time or under any circumstances.

These are the lovely ethics of the church of God: the principles of that heavenly kingdom to which all true Christians belong. Would they have suited Israel of old? Certainly not. Only imagine Joshua acting toward the Canaanites on the principles of Romans 12! It would have been as glaring an inconsistency as for us to act on the principle of Deuteronomy 20. How is this? Simply because, in Joshua's day, God was carrying out judgement in righteousness. Now He is dealing in unqualified grace.

It is not all the earth that is then to be destroyed, but only those nations among whom God's witnesses have previously been… The kingdoms of the world shall then become the Lord's, and shall not be destroyed. The islands far off shall form the train of the earthly glory of Messiah, just as the distant cities and peoples of old were to be left alive to become tributaries to Israel (Deut. 20:10-18).

Indiscriminate slaughter and wholesale destruction formed no part of Israel's business. Any city willing to accept the offer of peace was given the privilege of paying tribute to the people of God. And in a city that refused peace, everything inside the walls that could be used was to be kept.

There was one exception: there must be no peace with the Canaanites. They were not feared as rivals. They were doomed to destruction for their vile practices and for luring others into them.

Already in Genesis 15:16 God had said to Abraham: "For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." The Amorites were one of the main nations of Canaan. The Canaanites worshipped idols called Baal ("Lord"), Moloch ("King") and Astaroth ("Spouse"), and that worship went with dreadful moral excesses such as child sacrifice and prostitution. And yet God showed grace towards these nations for more than 400 years.

No nation on earth was such a breeding ground for every kind of corruption among men, and for all wickedness and abomination in the sight of God, as the Canaanites whom God devoted to destruction... Far from passing over His own people, God never dealt with any nation as strictly as with Israel. Every soul of Israel perished in the wilderness except the two spies... where can men justly complain of the doom that fell on such corrupters of the race?

Israel was in this respect only the executioner of divine judgment, not of their own passion or greed for gain. He could have destroyed them Himself by plague or famine. Instead He chose Israel to do it, and so taught His people the most solemn lesson He could give them, in the holiness of His own nature, and in what sin is before Him. They themselves would incur similar awful judgments if they followed them in their sin.

Opponents of Scripture have sometimes attacked the severity of the LORD's orders to Israel about their enemies. If God is love, why would He tell His people to act like this? The answer is very simple: "God is light," as well as love. The nations in and around Canaan were so soaked in terrible evils that they were a moral ulcer in the middle of the earth. It was mercy to others, and righteousness in God, to destroy them completely, after bearing with them so patiently. How much of a cancer does a skilled surgeon's knife spare?

They left many alive who should have been destroyed. Those spared became the wretched instruments of Israel's own ruin, leading Israel into the very sins that had called so loudly for divine judgement.

The same Divine Lawgiver, in full keeping with the age of law, told Saul to destroy Amalek utterly and to spare none. Now, in the day of salvation, He says to His redeemed, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

Seen as a picture, the Canaanites stand for the agents of Satan — the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, the rulers of this present darkness whom we are called to wrestle with now... With them there can be, and ought to be, no terms, no compromise, and no letting up in the fight, at any time or in any circumstances.

In Deuteronomy 20 we see how the fear of Jehovah controlled war, both inside and outside. It was not a rival to be got rid of, but the corrupt races who in fact held the land, to be destroyed by and for Israel, to whom the land was divinely given.

Living things could be vowed to Him in two ways. They could be consecrated to Him in life. Or, under certain conditions, they could be devoted to Him forever. This second kind of vow is called cherem. Men, animals and fields could be devoted in this way, and for these no redemption was permitted. In the case of people, such a vow was probably meant to affect only the enemies of God and of Israel. Their death was the only possible way to fulfil it. The Canaanites are an example of this (Deuteronomy 20:17).

The first case was of course the flood. Humanity was then wiped off the face of the earth, apart from eight souls. The second was the destruction of the cities of the plain, including Sodom and Gomorrah. Only righteous Lot and two daughters were saved. On both these occasions the destruction was an act of God — by water, and by fire and sulphur. In both cases human corruption had risen so high that it could no longer be tolerated. This was now the case with the Amorite nations. Some four hundred years earlier Abraham had been told, "the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete" (Genesis 15:16), but now it clearly was complete.

Israel was in this respect only the executioner of divine judgment, not of their own passion or greed for land. He might have destroyed them by plague or famine. Instead He chose Israel to carry out this task. In doing so He gave His people the most solemn lesson they could receive: the holiness of His own nature, and what sin is before Him.

Of all the nations on earth, none was such a breeding ground for every kind of corruption among men, and for all wickedness in the sight of God, as the Canaanites whom God devoted to destruction. So, as far as righteousness goes, it was perfectly just to hold these Canaanites up as a solemn warning to all the world and for all time. In the last lecture we saw that, far from passing over His own people, God never dealt with any nation as strictly as with Israel. Every soul of Israel died in the wilderness except the two spies who stood for God, even against their fellows as well as against the crowd. If God let all Israel fall in the wilderness for their sins, and did not spare even the single fault of Moses, how can anyone justly complain about the doom that fell on such corrupters of the human race?

It was a high honour put on Israel to wipe out those guilty nations. They proved themselves completely unworthy of that honour, because they failed to do as they were commanded. They left alive many who should have been utterly destroyed. The peoples they spared became the miserable instruments of Israel's own final ruin. They led Israel into the very sins that had called so loudly for divine judgment.

Seen as a picture, the Canaanites stand for the agents of Satan — the spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. They are the rulers of the darkness of this world, and we are called to wrestle with them now. In particular, they are the powers of evil that keep turning every link of religion into a means of deliberate and ruinous dishonour to God. With such enemies there can be no terms and no compromise, and there ought to be none. The fight must never stop, at any time or under any possible circumstances.

The offer of peace applied only to cities far from the land of Canaan, not to any city inside it. For those cities, God had already commanded that men, women, children and livestock should all be killed (vv. 16-17). These nations had sold themselves to demon worship and idolatry. Their sin had reached its full measure, and none were to survive. God knew that if they lived on, they would teach Israel the same evils these idolaters had grown used to (v. 18).

The land itself was vomiting them out because of their detestable practices. In this Israel was only the executioner of God's judgment. They were not acting out of their own passion or greed for land. God could have destroyed these nations by plague or famine. Instead He chose Israel to carry it out. In this way He gave His own people the most solemn lesson possible: the holiness of His own nature, and what sin is before Him. They would face the same terrible judgments themselves if they followed these nations into their sin. Their vile gods of lust and murder were the full outcome and expression of that sin.

There was one exception. There was to be no peace with the Canaanites. The reason was not that Israel feared them as rivals. They were doomed to destruction because of their vile practices and the way they lured others into them. It is well known that some find this hard to accept... Seen as a picture, the Canaanites stand for Satan's agents — the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, the cosmic powers over this present darkness, whom we are called to wrestle with now. They are the very powers of evil that keep twisting every connection with religion into a deliberate and ruinous insult to God. With enemies like these there can be, and ought to be, no terms, no compromise, and no pause in the fight at any time or in any circumstances.

God gave Israel a high honour in making them destroy those guilty nations. Israel proved completely unworthy of it, because they did not do what He commanded. They left many alive who should have been destroyed. Those spared people became the miserable tools of Israel's own ruin. They led Israel into the very sins that had cried out for God's judgement.

These are the lovely ethics of the church of God: the principles of the heavenly kingdom that all true Christians belong to. Would they have suited Israel long ago? Certainly not. Just imagine Joshua treating the Canaanites by the principles of Romans 12! That would have been as glaring a contradiction as it would be for us to act on the principle of Deuteronomy 20. Why the difference? In Joshua's day God was carrying out judgement in righteousness. Now He is dealing in pure grace. The principle on which God acts is the great moral guide for His people in every age.

This is just how the poor heart likes to reason. So we often deceive ourselves when we must judge and abandon what is evil. We persuade ourselves that holding something back is right. We imagine we can pick and choose and make some distinction. We will give up some of the evil, but not all. We are ready to burn the wood of the idol, but spare the gold and silver.